Marvel New World: Decimation
by Rando Serian
Summary: The New World Universe is a Marvel Fan-Universe where anything is possible. The only constants are change and death.
1. Decimation Issue 1: The Massing Storm

Decimation Issue 1: The Massing Storm

Three years ago…

"Richards!" Major Talbot yelled as he ran towards where Reed was sitting, the closing of the doors having prevented him from leaving before the machine started, "Open the damn doors and let me out this instant!"

"I can't" Reed said as he frantically pressed buttons on the console before him, "Something's gone wrong, I've been locked out of the controls!" he said losing his cool as he looked around the room, "Damn it!" he yelled, "This wasn't supposed to happen!" he yelled as he saw the light begin to expand outwards.

"Reed!" Ben yelled as the light grew, inch by inch enveloping the entire testing area. As Ben yelled out the light touching his arm had begun to break it down, slowly disintegrating as it moved closer towards him, "Reed! Help me!" Ben yelled out as Reed Richards watched in horror as slowly not only Ben vanished, but was shortly followed by Sue, Victor, and Johnny. As the light moved closer, Reed saw it disintegrate two others, a maintenance man & the SHIELD overseer.

Slowly the light approached, Reed closed his eyes and waited, ready to be taken by the light, the screams of the others in his mind as he waited. When the light finally fell over him Reed saw the frame of a silver man who rocketed through him on a surfboard leaving a small piece of his board inside Reed's body. When the light faded Reed was alone, surrounded by SHIELD operatives wondering what had just happened.

Present day…

"Hey, Reed!" Ben yelled out as he ran to catch up with his friend, his heavy rock-like feet sending minor shockwaves and making loud thuds with each step, "I was wondering how things were coming with your experiment. Susie said you were almost done."

"I am…" Reed said without looking up from his notes as he walked, "I've finally tracked down the last one that was there with us when I lost control of my experiment, the maintenance man seems to be in the Florida Everglades…" Reed said calmly as he pressed the button for the elevator, "I asked Nick Fury sent the Avengers to pick up Victor, so once the four of you pick up the maintenance man we should be able to finish my original experiment." Reed said as the elevator doors opened, "I would go with you, but as I'm no longer a member of the Fantastic Four, I trust I can count on you, Sue, Johnny, and Xi'an to go pick up the handyman up while I go finish up the machine?"

"You can count on us!" Ben said enthusiastically as Reed stepped onto the elevator and pressed a button, "After you finish your experiment, I'll be human again… right Reed?" Ben asked the elevator doors beginning to close, separating him and Reed.

"Of course Ben…" Reed said flatly, a smirk barely visible on his face as the doors closed, a smirk that could have meant anything "All of our wishes will come true." Reed's voice trailed off muffled by the doors of the elevator as he went down to his laboratory in the Baxter Building subbasement. Walking away from the elevator confused by the way Reed was acting, Ben headed off to gather Sue and Johnny in order to bring in the maintenance worker who was most likely transformed as they had been.

As he walked he remembered what he had seen when the light passed over him three years ago, a large man with the same cracks on his skin that Ben now had, wielding a large axe seemingly made of stone. As the man swung his axe down, the stone broke, a chunk sticking to the outside of Ben's skin, which grew and covered him like a cocoon. When Ben awoke he found himself in France, and was attacked by those who believed him to be a monster.

The French Army captured Ben and took him to a strange facility filled with scientists. For months he was poked and prodded as they tried to run experiments on him. Just when he was about to lose hope his childhood friend Reed, alongside several SHIELD agents arrived and freed him, and Reed promised to help Ben and the world. Reed proposed a team to SHIELD to utilize their powers, in exchange for SHIELD continuing to fund his research so he could eventually fulfill his promise to help.

Walking towards Sue's lab Ben wondered if what he saw when the door of the elevator closed was his imagination or not, had Reed smirked or was his mind playing tricks on him. As the door opened he saw Sue talking to Colonel Talbot through the glass that had contained him since the event three years ago. While Ben had become a monster in appearance, Glenn's powers made him more of a threat than even the worst super-villain. Talbot was unable to be released from the encasement that they had placed him in, otherwise the powers that were granted him that day would kill any who came to close to him.

Things weren't all bad for Talbot though, his time inside the glass case had caused him to become good friends with Ben and Sue. Ben and Glenn had even started having a poker game every Thursday night as a way to pass the time as Ben couldn't leave the facility unless on SHIELD business & Glenn couldn't leave at all. The one time he had been out of the container, during an attack by Victor Doom, he had been responsible for the death of Sue and Johnny's father, an event that Johnny never forgave him for.

"Hey," Ben said as he looked at the girl he and Reed had once competed over back when he was human, "Reed finally tracked down the maintenance guy," A smile spread across his face as he flashed a thumbs up at Glenn, "If he can finish his original experiment he can make us all human once again."

"That's great news!" Sue said as she gave her friend a hug, unaware that doing so made him wish that she had chosen him instead of Reed, "I'll call Johnny. As soon as he and Xi'an get back from the Triskellion we can move out."

"Why are they at the Triskellion?" Ben asked coldly, the memories of their recent falling out still fresh in his mind, as he sat down in the chair he usually used while playing poker with Glenn.

"Reed has been having Johnny move some equipment over there for the past month," Glenn said as he looked at the two of them through the glass, "I heard something about my containment chamber being moved over there either today or tomorrow. And Xi'an is there to give her report."

"So the experiment is going to be finished inside SHIELD HQ?" Ben said angrily, "Great…" he leaned back and prepared to wait for Johnny to return to the Baxter Building.

Latveria, Around one hour later…

A lightning bolt pierced the air sending Captain America flying out through the entryway into the throne and across the hall into statue shaped like a demon. "How dare you!" Doom yelled as he stormed out of the throne room, "I don't care what your orders are! This is my country! I am king!" he yelled as another bolt of lightning flew from his hands into the WWII soldier.

"So you're king huh," Captain America said as he stumbled to his feet, "A king of a country that is smaller than Rhode Island doesn't make you much of a king!" He yelled out as he threw his shield at the Latverian Ruler, who promptly redirected it into the wall with a large jolt of electricity, "You think you're so high and mighty, smarter than everyone else, don't you?" he yelled out as he stumbled towards the entryway.

"The only person smarter than me," Doom said as he stood over Rogers, "Is the one that has fooled the world." He said as he held his arm out and Captain America's shield flew into his hand, "How poetic…" he said as he looked at the injured soldier, "Getting beaten by your own weapon." He laughed as he raised the shield into the air, only for an arrow to shatter the window and knock the weapon of Captain America out of his hands.

"For a genius," Steve said as he stood tall, "you really are stupid." He said as he plucked his shield from the air as it came back down, "Did you really think I'd come here alone?"

"Of course not," Doom said with a smile as he held his hands out, streams of electricity spreading outwards from the tips of each of his fingers into the metallic statues that surrounded the room, "Did you really think I was going to fight you alone?" he said as the statues sprang to life, revealing their true nature, robotic guards built by Doom.

"Stark!" Steve yelled as he leapt onto the back of one of the robots and struck it with his SHIELD, "Bring the assault team in now!" he commanded as the robotic guard flailed about trying to throw him off, "Backup team hold position!" he finished as the Doombot finally knocked him off its back and into the wall again.

"You heard him," Stark's voice rang out over the radio, "O'Donahue, Ross, Rhodey, lets move in," Stark commanded as a blast came through the roof and Iron Man descended into the hall alongside War Machine each of them carrying another person with Iron Man carrying She-Hulk and War Machine carrying Machine Man.

"Alright Avengers," Captain America said as he looked at the team, "Let's end this mission." he said as he wiped the blood from his mouth, "Ross, Rhodes, stop the robots!" he barked orders at the two of the three new Avengers as the platform Doom was standing on began to sink into the ground, "O'Donahue, get control of the castle's security system! Stark, you're with me," Steve began to walk forward, "We're going after Doom."

Florida Everglades, Same Time…

"The Everglades?" Johnny laughed as he stepped of the SHIELD transport, "Reed's been searching for three years and the maintenance man was in the Everglades?"

"Shut up Johnny," Ben roared as he pushed the younger member of the team into the swamp.

"Will you two stop that?" Sue yelled as she followed them off the transport, "We want to finish this quickly so that way Reed can return us to normal." She said as she looked at the readings on her palmtop computer.

"Who said I wanted to be returned to normal?" Johnny asked as they began to wade through the swamp, followed by Xi'an, a SHIELD agent that had been assigned to work with them since Reed quit active duty.

"I would think that someone who doesn't care for the rules would want to be normal again, so that he could resume prowling for girls," the SHIELD agent said looking at him.

"No offense Xi'an," Johnny said as he ignited a flame around his hand to bring more light to the area, "But despite your so called expert opinion of my personality for my SHIELD profile, I actually do wish to join the Avengers one day."

"It would probably be better if they just locked you up," Ben said loudly, having a hard time wading through the marshlands, his heavy body sinking into the muddy water, with only the SHIELD-designed floats keeping him above water.

"And maybe you should have stayed on the transport?" Johnny said as he looked back at Ben who was struggling to keep up with them.

"Will the two of you be quiet for one minute?" Xi'an yelled as she rubbed her temples the two of them giving her a headache, "How do you deal with their constant arguing?" She asked Sue as she walked faster to catch up with her.

"Honestly… I just don't pay attention…" Sue said as she looked at the palmtop and motioned for all of them to stop, "He's close…"

"How close?" Johnny asked as something dragged him under the water.

Meanwhile back in Latveria…

"Cap…" Mitchell's voice came over the com-link, "I've got the security system under my control and Ross & Rhodes seem to have destroyed most of the bot's that Doom sent at us."

"Good work, soldier," Captain America said as he entered a large underground chamber filled with technology, like a private robotics factory, the only exit the way he had come in, "I think we have Doom trapped."

"You think you have me trapped…" Doom chuckled as he landed in front of the two Avengers, his armor clanking on the ground as he touched down, "That is rich… None of you even know what's going on, and you think you have me trapped?" He said as his roaring laughter filling the room.

"Don't care," Rogers said as he through the shield at Doom, only for him to deflect it once again.

"Don't you ever learn," Doom said as he walked closer and grabbed the soldier, sparks flying off his hand, "Using the same trick again, despite knowing it didn't work the first time you tried it."

"What do you think my name is Doom, Captain Britain… who said I was using the same trick again?" Rogers said as the shield he had thrown earlier came flying out of nowhere, hitting Doom in the back of the head, knocking his helmet off. "I'm an American," he yelled as Doom felt something land behind him, despite nothing being there, "Our country was built by being crafty, sneaky, and the willingness to do whatever necessary to win." Electricity flowed through the air behind him as Iron Man dropped his optical camouflage and placed a set of cuffs around Doom's wrists negating his powers.

"Don't you realize what's going on," Doom said as Captain America's fist made contact with his face several pinpricks left behind as Rogers threw a few sedative darts at the ground, the darts having been concealed with his punch, "You've doomed us all…" his voice trailed off as he slowly began to lose consciousness.

"As I said before Doom," Captain America's voice rang through his head as he drifted off, "I don't care what you have to say."

Moment's ago, A Hidden Lab…

"So the pieces fall in place," A female voice came from behind a man, a scientist, sitting in a computer chair as he stared at the screen.

"Of course… It may have taken longer than originally planned," The scientist said with a smile as he turned around, "And I may have had to pull more strings than I would have liked, but everything is happening as I said it would." He laughed a bit as the girl who had spoken came into view, "Thanks to you, Rhona my love." The man said as he walked over to the girl and gave her a deep kiss.

"Wow…" Rhona said as she looked into his eyes, "Whatever was that for?"

"That brilliant plan you had," The man said as he sat back down, "Releasing that psychic entity we discovered diverted enough SHIELD attention away from me in order to get things moving again."

"It was nothing…" Rhona said as she leaned over the scientist, wrapping her arms around him seductively, "Nothing at all, and Xavier's death was an added bonus."

Meanwhile, the Florida Everglades…

"Johnny!" Sue yelled as the enlarged crocodile pulled him down once again.

"Don't worry," Ben yelled as he grabbed the release for the floatation device, "I'll get him." He said as he pressed the button causing the device to break off allowing him to sink beneath the waters.

"Idiot!" Xi'an yelled as she stared at the water where Ben had sunk himself, "Sue, can your device keep track of Grimm?"

"Yes, just give me a second to recalibrate," She said as she quickly began pressing a button code on the palmtop.

"Keep your device locked onto him," she said as she began to focus her mind, "I'll take over his body and when I get both of them to safety I'll give you the signal to bring them up." She ordered Sue as her mind connected to Ben's deep beneath the water.

Her mind connected to Ben, Xi'an found herself already grappling with the mutated crocodile. As the beast attempted to take a bite out of Ben's rocky form, Xi'an grabbed it by its jaws and pulled, ripping the creature in half. Looking around she saw a being made of what could only be called an amalgamation of plant life seemingly mourning the loss of the beast's life. Slowly the creature walked towards Johnny, and as it touched him they both began to glow.

Back on the surface, Xi'an gave Sue the signal, as she brought them up she saw not only Ben and her brother, but the plant creature as well. The palmtop computer began to raising alarms, looking at the amalgam of living swamp they all realized that this was the missing maintenance man. As Johnny sprang to life, the man-thing having healed him from the wounds the crocodile had given him Ben could only smile, he was going to be normal again.

Triskellion, New York Bay, the following day…

"So Richards is your device ready?" Nick Fury asked as he walked up the steps to where the younger man was sitting in front of a large console, "Or does Uncle Sam have to pay Talbot another year for sitting in a glass tube."

"Don't worry general," Richards said as he pressed a button on the machine, "With all seven here the machine will function perfectly." He said as the humming sound of the machine woke Doom from his sedated state.

"No…" Doom said, almost scared of what was to come, as the machine kicked into high gear, none of the others in the room hearing his voice, "It can't end like this…"

Up at the console, a small light flowed into Richards, his eyes glowing as the light merged with him. Fury, quickly tried to abort the machine, but it was to late, the machine couldn't be stopped. Looking over at Richards he saw the scientist rise into the air as a strange voice spoke through him, "The planet chosen, the location recognized, the end of all things, the beginning of all things comes." The voice spoke through Reed as the light burst out of him, creating a hole in the ceiling of the Triskellion as it left.

Xavier Institute, Much Later that day…

Oblivious of the events that had occurred at the Triskellion earlier that morning, the students and faculty of the Xavier Institute, located in Westchester County, were preparing for the new school year, having only recently rebuilt it after the former head of the former SHIELD division STAR, Bolivar Trask, had attacked the school while the X-Men were in Canada. Logan, the eldest member of the X-Men, who alongside many of the older X-Men now acted as teachers for the younger students, was just returning from a night at the bar alongside Mortimer Toynbee. Like Logan, Mortimer was also one of the original members of the X-Men, and like Logan he had left to form the Brotherhood.

The two of them had been out for drinks several times a week since Mortimer had returned to the X-Men, catching up on old times. Many of the X-Men were distrustful of the former member of the Brotherhood, but Logan knew better, his senses could tell if someone, especially Toynbee was lying. As the two of them walked out of the garage, having parked their respective vehicles, Toynbee owning an Ariel Red Hunter and Logan owning a 1972 Harley Davidson FX Super Glide, a loud boom echoed across the grounds of the Institute as a red blur came crashing out of the air and crashed into the driveway.

Rushing to the crater, Logan and Mortimer watched as the Juggernaut, his armor cracked, his left arm and leg broken, the bones clearly visible, staggered out of the hole. As they watched the broken man who on several occasions called himself invincible, Mortimer couldn't move, unsure of whether to help him or take him down. Logan was a different story; seconds after he the Juggernaut had climbed out of the crater, he had already gotten close enough to be threatening him with one of his adamantium claws.

"What are you doing here?" Logan said as he pressed the rounded side of his claw against Juggernaut's throat.

"Back off little man," Juggernaut said as he looked down at Logan, "I'm not here to fight, there's no reason to… the Brotherhood's gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Mortimer asked as he walked forward.

"Tell short-stuff here to stand down… I'm not with the Brotherhood…" Juggernaut said as he gripped his broken arm, "As of now… I'm no longer Xavier's spy. From now on I'm just a member of the X-Men."

"What?" Logan growled as his eyes widened

End Chapter 1


	2. Decimation Issue 2: Truths Revealed

PREVIOUSLY ON NEW WORLD DECIMATION:

After three years Reed Richard's has finished the experiment that transformed him and six others into super-humans. Unfortunately the experiment caused a weird light to cover Richards followed by a proclamation that the End of All Things is coming. Later that day Juggernaut landed in front of the Xavier School with a rather unbelievable revelation.

(For more on what is happening with SHIELD, Avengers, & The Triskellion read the Avengers/FF Tie-In)

Decimation Issue 2: Revealed Truths

**Earlier…**

"Tell short-stuff to stand down… I'm not with the Brotherhood…" Juggernaut gripped his broken arm, barely able to stand "As of now… I'm no longer Xavier's spy. I'm just a member of the X-Men."

"What?" Logan growled as his eyes widened

"Didn't Xavier tell you anything?" Juggernaut coughed as Logan began to lower his hand, "My brother, he can explain it to you…" his legs beginning to give out, finally feeling the force of his impact, "Get Hank…" his voice softly wheezed out as he fell backwards, back down into the crater.

**Now, Storm's Office, Xavier Institute…**

"Juggernaut is your brother!" Ororo yelled at Hank McCoy who shrunk back in his seat as she gave him the third degree, "Not only that, but he was Xavier's spy!" the headmistress fumed as the X-Man known as Beast hung his head, "When I became the new head of the X-Men, I asked everyone to not keep secrets like Xavier had done… and yet you kept one such as this?" She began to rub her temples to calm herself down.

" 'Ro," Hank said his head still hanging, unable to make eye contact with the person he considered his oldest and closest friend in the X-Men, "It isn't that simple…" he slowly lifted his head up to meet her eyes, "My brother wasn't just Xavier's spy… he was a SHIELD spy as well." He said as he cupped his hands, "My hands were tied, I mean I'm still a SHIELD agent… I couldn't tell you anything without compromising current SHIELD operations." He said as he finally made eye contact with Ororo.

"Get out of my office!" the leader of the X-Men yelled as she pointed towards the door creating an expulsion of wind that forced the door open, "I'll decide what to do after I hear what _your brother _has to say!" she snapped as Hank slowly exited the room.

"I'm sorry 'Ro," Hank said as he closed the door behind him, "For the longest time I wish I could've told all of you this secret."

"I know Hank," Ororo said, her chair turned around facing out the window, knowing the other X-Man couldn't hear her "and I understand. But understanding isn't everything." She said as she opened the locket she wore around her neck and looked at the images inside, "We all have our little secrets that we don't wish others to know about… right brother… sister.." she said as she looked at the images of her siblings inside the locket.

As she looked at the locket she began to think of her adopted family. After her parents death she had been taken in by a man known as T'Chaka, king of Wakanda. Storm was raised as a princess alongside the king's true children T'Challa and Shuri. After M'Baku conquered Wakanda, Shuri helped her escape knowing M'Baku not only favored Ororo, but it was their past interactions that had lead to his banishment.

Staring at the images in the locket she began to wonder what they were up to. T'Challa had been a member of the Avengers not to long ago, but had left to free Wakanda. During that time that the met, T'Challa would tell Ororo nothing of what had happened to Shuri. She could only wonder what had become of her sister. As she drifted off into her thoughts, Ororo gave no heed to Emma Frost, head of both the younger students and the training team, entering her office. At least until Emma slammed her fist through the desk that once belonged to Charles Xavier, making her presence known.

"Oh! Emma," Storm said as she turned around, "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were here yet…" she looked at the head of the New Mutants and the hole she had created.

"I noticed," Emma pulled her fist from the hole, it slowly shifting back to flesh, "Is it true?" Her eyes piercing her boss with a look of anger and that one would see in a mother's eyes as she protects her children.

"Is what true," the leader of the X-Men replied, hoping the question was not what she thought was

"Did the Juggernaut really crash outside the school, are the rumors floating around that he's one of the X-Men true!" She yelled locking her eyes with Ororo's.

"Emma," She said without blinking, "I don't see how it's your business." Ororo said as she stood from her chair, "The last I checked you said you didn't want either the younger student body or your so called New Mutants getting involved with the affairs of the X-Men." She began to walk out of her own office, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check to see if our visitor is awake so I can get some information out of him. You can come with me if you want."

**Later, Medical Facility, Xavier Institute…**

"How is he Jean?" Hank asked as he sat down next to his brother as Jean worked on bandaging up his arm.

"Surprisingly better," She said as she set the cast to dry, "I didn't have to do much; the only real damage was to his arm and leg, both of which seem like they came from his landing than anything else. And after I got the bones back in place his body seemed to begin healing on its own," Jean said as she walked over to her friend, "The sedatives should be wearing off shortly… he'll probably want to talk to you when he comes to."

"Thanks," Hank said as he looked up Jean, "Who could have done this to him…" he pondered to himself as he stared at his older brother.

"We all do Hank…" Jean said as she placed her hand on her shoulder, "How must he have felt, facing us in battle, knowing we were on the same side, but unable to do anything about it?"

"I don't know Jean," Hank said as he closed his eyes, "None of us could ever know what that is like… and I pray neither he nor any of us have to do it again."

"It was harder than you can think," Juggernaut's voice softly whispered as he began to rouse from the state of unconsciousness he had been in, "but easier than you can imagine." He said as he began to push himself up.

"Eric!" Hank said as he hugged his brother, "What happened… why did you say the Brotherhood is gone?" he asked as he stared at his childhood role model.

"Yes _'Eric'_" Emma sneered as she walked into the room followed by a rather large boy wearing a student's uniform, "Please tell us what happened."

"What are you doing here Emma?" Jean snapped at the head of the New Mutants.

"I asked her here," Ororo's voice came from the opening elevator, "I wish to hear Juggernaut's tale in person, and there are some facts I needed checked so I asked Emma, Logan, and Mondo to sit in on this." She said as she and Logan exited the elevator and took positions around the large mutant on the hospital table.

"I understand you not trustin' me," Juggernaut said as he swung his legs over the side of the table, "Me bein' a double agent an' all. But my story is no tale, it happened… I don't know how many survived or if they are all truly gone, but I can tell you what happened." He said as he closed his eyes, "The Brotherhood ain't completely bad, probably the only reason SHIELD hasn't raided it yet, that or their after Aidyn Long…"

"Aidyn Long?" Mondo asked as he gave Juggernaut a weird look, "The filmmaker?"

"Yes," Juggernaut said as he glared at the Samoan, "He's a mutant… and a member of the Brotherhood. He's a bit off, but a nice guy."

"You're friends with Aidyn Long…" Emma swooned thinking of his movies and, more important to her, his documentaries.

"As I was saying…" The elder McCoy cleared his throat at the most recent interruption, "As SHIELD and Xavier's agent inside, I became friends with several of them…"

**The Previous Day, Brotherhood City, Laputa…**

"Hey, Sabes!" Juggernaut yelled out as he walked towards Sabretooth, followed by the Blob, Aidyn Long, and Longshot, "We're going for a drink! Wanna come?" he asked as he slapped the much hairier mutant in the back.

"Sure…" Sabretooth growled at Juggernaut, "One thing… Do that again and you'll be wearing your internal organs on the exterior."

"Try it little man," Juggernaut grinned as he bent over to face Sabretooth.

"Hey, hey…" Aidyn said as he stepped in the middle of them, "You can kill each other later, let's kill our brain cells now." He said as he gave a big smile, "Onwards! To beer!"

"I'm with him," Longshot said as he followed Aidyn who had begun walking down the street towards the bar, "Tonight is for drinking, you two can kill each other any time you want."

"What was Magneto thinking letting the two of them join the Brotherhood?" Sabretooth sighed as he sheathed his claws and turned to follow them.

"The Brotherhood is more than what you believe," Blob said as he walked slowly behind Sabretooth, his feet creating a loud thud with every step, "We aren't terrorists… Magneto's plan is, has always been to change the future."

"What do you mean… by change the world?" Juggernaut asked as he turned to face Blob.

"The Brotherhood," Blob said as the five of them walked down the street, "We were originally X-Men, and then we found it."

"Found what?" The armored mutant asked as the five of them approached the bar.

"A vision of the future," Blob said as Aidyn opened the door of the bar, "We called it an O.P.A., it was an artifact from the near future, depicting a terrible world. The brotherhood broke off from the X-Men to change the future, by any means necessary. Both teams are aiming for the same goal really."

"I didn't know that," Juggernaut said as they approached a large table, "How come all the X-Men didn't decide this path?"

"Dunno," Blob said as he sat down on a large stone bench made specifically for him, "You'd have to ask those few that remained X-Men." He stated as he saw Aidyn getting the beer from the bar.

"Pointless," Sabretooth snarled as he sat down, "Reasons, ideals, in the end they are pointless." The newest member of the Brotherhood stated as he looked at them, "Actions are the only thing that matter. Magneto may act all high and mighty saying he's trying to 'change the world' but to me it looks like he's just lookin' for a fight," he said as he glared at the others.

"So why are you here Sabes?" Juggernaut asked as he took a guinness off the tray Aidyn carried over, "Last I checked all that remains of your family are X-Men."

"That's exactly why I'm here," Sabretooth said as he took a bottle of sake off the tray, "My half-sister is only with them 'cause she don't know he's our father… But I have memories of the asshole, abandoning me and my mother." He roared downing the sake, "He left her to die, god knows if me an' her are his only kids."

"Ouch…" Aidyn said, thinking about what Sabretooth said as he sat down, "Can we change the subject…" the filmmaker drank his beer, "Like, who… or what is that, and why does it remind me of an anime character?" he said calmly as he pointed at the tall silvery metallic figure that had appeared in a flash of light in a corner of the bar.

"Now that's a good question," Longshot said as he sipped on a martini, "Think he's a new member?"

"No…" Sabretooth snarled letting out a low growl as his claws popped out. Taking an attacking position his hair began to stand on end, "His smell isn't natural!" he roared as he charged at the silver man.

"Target acquired," the silver man said as he stopped Sabretooth's charge by raising his hand, causing what appeared to be a surfboard, made of a liquid metal, to materialize. The surfboard, returned to liquid and wrapped around Sabretooth after stopping him, floating him over to where the silver man stood, "Query," the silver man stated as Sabretooth stopped in front of him, "Being possesses skills and abilities outside the normal set spectrum for sentient life on this planet." The silver man said as he studied Sabretooth, "As do beings companions," He said as he looked over at the table where the others, minus Juggernaut who was now standing in a corner talking into a cellphone, were all preparing to either fight or flee to get help, "Other beings in location also exhibit abilities outside the normal set spectrum." He said as he drew Sabretooth back to in front of him, "Theory. Beings are mutations, gathered in one location. Threat level… minimal." He said as he dropped the now maddened mutant and turned to leave the building.

"Minimal threat…" Sabretooth said under his breath as his eyes turned red, "MINIMAL THREAT!" he roared as he slashed the silver man's back.

"Statement. Being exhibiting hostile behavior." The silver being stated as he turned back around to face his attacker, "Answer. Terminate." He said as a pillar of metal sent the son of Wolverine flying out through the roof of the bar.

Seeing Sabretooth being sent flying sent the members of the Brotherhood in the bar into frenzy, all of them, with the exception of Aidyn, rushed to attack the silver being. Blob, despite his size, made it to the silver man first, attempting to crush him, the being first blasted his arm with what appeared to be molten metal, and then proceeded to do the same with his head, causing the lifeless form of the Blob's headless torso to crash into the floor, crushing two other members of the Brotherhood as it fell.

"I'm going for help," Aidyn, Longshot, and Juggernaut heard the bartender Abyss yell across the room.

"All right, silver man," Juggernaut said as he cracked his knuckles, "Prepare to face the unstoppable might of the Juggernaut!" he yelled as he rammed the "silver man" into the nearby wall. As the Juggernaut took a few steps back, he saw Longshot running out of the bar, most likely to inform Magneto of what was happening. Turning back towards the surfer he realized his attack had done little… if any… damage.

"Postulation." The being said as he stepped out from the hole, "One called an unstoppable force, determines that said force must be in motion. As such, if motion is removed from said force it is effectively stopped." He said as Juggernaut felt heat surrounding his body as he was engulfed by the same metallic water that had ravaged the rest of the Brotherhood, "Query." The being said as he noticed Juggernaut still alive inside the liquid metal, "Lifeform is still functioning after lethal force."

"Yeah," Juggernaut said as he struggled, "A pity ain't it… and just who the hell are you anyway?"

"Answer." The silver man said as he stood in front of Juggernaut, now the only living person in the bar beside himself, "Self is part of the Galactus Consciousness, one of seven heralds chosen by Galactus to determine feeding grounds. Name prior to merging with herald, Norinn Radd."

"Well then Norinn," Juggernaut stated calmly as he struggled against the stuff that held him, attempting to break free, "Why did you merge with a herald and just what does this Galactus want with the Brotherhood?"

"Answer One." Norinn stated as he lowered the metal surrounding Juggernaut, "Merging occurred to save Zen La. Answer Two. Nothing. Heralds were to be gathered at location determined by set interface in order to judge planet." He continued as they both stood across from each other, "Exterior force manipulated projections, scattering heralds to locations of high evolutionary standing."

"What do you mean by judge planet?" Juggernaut asked, keeping his guard up in case the surfer began his attack again.

"Answer." Norinn stated as he cocked his head to the side, "Galactus devours worlds, stars, galaxies, to replenish and renew. A world is judged, should evolution have stopped, Galactus devours, should evolution be processing, Galactus spares." He continued speaking as he looked passed Juggernaut, "Query. Being is anomalous, self is unable to terminate being, why?"

"Don't know," Juggernaut said as he sat down, "Probably has something to do with this tin can Weapon X put me in," he continued as he looked at his armor, "Why did you attack us?"

"Query," the surfer said as he looked at Juggernaut confused, "Was it not being's companion that attacked self? Self only acted in self defense. Heralds will not attack unless attacked, if attacks continue against heralds, response will escalate, if more than two heralds are attacked…" Norinn said as he began to grip his sides in pain.

"Hey," Juggernaut said as he placed his hand on the herald, "You okay?"

"Heralds assaulted," Norinn's voice echoed louder than any voice should be able to. Juggernaut had only seconds to blink before the changing Norinn struck him hard, harder than he had hit Sabretooth, and he went flying.

"Oh… crap…" Aidyn said as the being turned towards him, "Crap… crap… crap…crap… crap!" Juggernaut could hear the filmmaker yelling as he ran from the building dragging Longshot with him. Juggernaut knew that Aidyn would reach Hawaii long before the city had left his view. Seconds before the floating city of Laputa, the city created by Magneto for the Brotherhood out of a passing meteor, exited his view, he saw Magneto rushing to attack the altered Norinn Radd.

**Present, Medical Facility, Xavier Mansion…**

"Galactus?" Emma said as she grabbed Juggernaut's arm, "Are you sure, certain he said Galactus?"

"Yes," Juggernaut said as he looked at Emma, "Why… What exactly is Galactus?"

"The Church of Galactus is the oldest religion on earth, older than even the Order of Apocalypse," Emma said as she began to pace back and forth, "This isn't good, if Galactus is coming…"

"Sorry to interrupt Miss Frost," Mondo said looking up from a microscope, "But I've been examining the samples Miss Grey took from Mr. McCoy's… the Juggernaut's… armor." He said as he touched it directly with an ungloved hand, "I can tell you, that this metal isn't metal… in fact, it isn't even matter. It's almost like the exact opposite of matter, and it's also more similar to water in it's structure than metal." He said as he began moving it through his fingers like water, "It's easily manipulated, but I can't copy it."

"I think we can confirm Juggernaut here is telling the truth," Wolverine said as he stopped leaning on the wall, "Question is, what are we going to do about it?" he asked as he walked over to Storm.

"Emma, you seem to know the most about this Galactus," she said as she turned to the head of the academy, "Is there any way we can avoid this."

"Possibly," she said as she sat down, "My father was a member of The Church, and I remember him stating once that Galactus draws his powers from something called the Cosmic Cube."

"So if we get the cube, we stop Galactus…" Wolverine said as he gazed lovingly at Storm, "Sounds like a plan to me love."

"One problem," Juggernaut stated as he slid of the table with a large thud, "The heralds."

"He's right," Emma said as she looked up, "If one herald managed to decimate the Brotherhood, do we stand a chance against all seven, who if Galactus arrives, will be gathered where he does."

"Storm!" Cyclops's voice came over the intercom as his face appeared on a screen, "We've received communication from Alpha Flight!"

"What do they want now?" Storm asked as she turned to the monitor in the med-lab.

"They don't want anything," Scott said as they saw the somber look on his face, "Alpha Flight, as well as their three training facilities were taken out by a being known as a herald. The few survivors are en route, but Guardian stayed behind. He sent us a warning with what little life he had left, the herald went after them… it will be here shortly."

"Damn it!" both Storm and Emma yelled at the same time.

"Alpha Flight as well," Juggernaut said as he looked at Wolverine who seemed to be irritated by the news.

"Cyclops!" Emma yelled through the intercom, "Contact Nick Fury, tell him we need an evac for the students… NOW!" Emma ordered the field leader of the X-Men.

"Can't," Cyclops said as he took a deep breath, "Shortly after we were contacted by Alpha Flight, I tried contacting them SHIELD has gone dead, most likely they were attacked as well."

"The tunnels…" Storm said as she bit her finger, "Cyclops, find Kurt now… tell him to contact the Morlocks, we need to use the tunnels to evacuate the school. How long do we have before the Alpha Flight refugees arrive?"

"Thirty minutes tops…" Cyclops said as the monitor turned off.

"Emma," Storm said turning to the headmistress of the school, "Gather the students, get them to the tunnel entrance near the mausoleum." She then turned to Wolverine who was looking like he wanted to skewer someone, "Wolverine contact the Champions, make sure the haven is safe."

"Okay," Emma said as she took off to gather her students.

"Fine," Wolverine snarled as he hurried off to contact the mutants on the west coast.

"Jean… Take Juggernaut and gather the X-Men," She said as she turned to the three standing near the exam table, "Beast… get Psylocke to the tunnel entrance, have her go with Emma and the kids."

"Yes ma'am," the three of them said in unison.

"What about me," Mondo asked as he walked over to Storm, "What do you want me to do Miss Munroe?"

"Mondo," Storm said as she glared at him, "What do you think?"

"I'll go help Miss Frost with the students then…" he said as he ran off.

**A few minutes later, the Morlock Tunnels…**

"Callisto!" Nightcrawler's voice rang out through the tunnels, "Caliban! Sunder! Healer! Is anyone there!" He continued to yell as he ran down the empty tunnels, "Is anyone there!" he yelled out as he and Marrow came to an entryway and stopped.

Looking at the ground, they saw why the Morlock's hadn't responded. Littered along the floor of the tunnels the bodies of the Morlock's lay scattered, their bodies looking as if they had been drained of life itself. As she looked at the bodies, Marrow could only drop to her knees, the Morlocks, the people that had raised her, they were dead. As he took a step back to give a prayer for the departed, Nightcrawler heard a buzzing sound, like electricity, growing louder and louder, as a large light came flying at them. Pushing Marrow out of the way, the former leader of the Morlocks prepared to face what came their way

"Die!" a voice rang out from the light, "Perish for your crimes, you murderers!"

End Chapter 2


	3. Avengers Fantastic Four 1: The Truth

Avengers/FF #1: The Truth

Latveria, 17 Years ago,

"Father!" a young girl yelled out amidst the blood covered snow trying to reach the hand of one of the corpses out of over a hundred bodies littering the ground near where a man with a crown stood pleased at the sight.

"It seems I failed to eradicate all the cockroaches," the king said as he began moving towards the girl, "A mistake I will be sure to rectify."

"Hold it right there!" A commanding voice came from behind the king, "I will not allow you to harm that child!"

"What are you talking about father," The king turned towards the source of the voice, the previous king of Latveria, "That isn't a child, it's a cockroach that needs to be crushed."

"You have become mad Werner," the former king glared at his son, "The Church is of no threat to us!"

"And you have become weak!" King Werner roared as he turned his axe towards his father, "We are the defenders of Christendom! We cannot allow any to soil our land with their pagan beliefs of beings such as the Lifebringer, Galactus, or Oblivion!"

"I will stop you," the old man sighed as he drew his sword, "Even if I must give my life to do so." With those words the past and present kings rushed at each other, weapons in hand.

To the little girl spared by the old man, all she heard was the clash of metal on metal, the fate of her life the outcome of the battle. Too weak to run, and too afraid to look, the girl clutched the dead body of her father, sobbing into his cold hands. With a load yell the sounds stopped and the girl waited to learn what her fate was. Time passed, and none approached her, gathering her courage the young girl looked up and saw a dreadful sight, both kings had killed each other, and the kind old King's decapitated head stared right at her.

Triskellion, Present Day…

The light slowly overtook Richards' body; he could feel it as it grew around him, enveloping him. This wasn't the painful pulling light that had granted him his powers; this was the light he had sought since he had met her. The girl that had introduced him to The Church had opened his eyes to the entirety of the cosmos. As the light filled him he saw what he had long sought, Galactus.

"Richards!" Fury's voice rang out as he drew his gun at Reed, "Turn this off now!"

"It's too late Fury," Reed said as the light grew around him, "The planet has been chosen, the location recognized, the end of all things, the beginning of all things, comes." His voice echoed as the light erupted out of him, puncturing a hole through the layers of Triskellion above them as it exited and enveloped the SHIELD base. As the light formed a dome over the base, the base's power cut out, only the emergency lights remaining.

"Richards!" Fury yelled as he grabbed the scientist, "What exactly did you do?"

"He brought Galactus," Doom said as he struggled to his feet, "This is what I've been trying to stop all these years."

"Galactus?" Ben looked at Reed questioningly, "What the hell is Galactus? Reed's been trying to set things right!"

"And I have Ben," Reed pointed at the Man-Thing, which was beginning to shed the layers of plant-life that had once encompassed it, "Look." He said as he pointed towards a glowing blue humanoid creature floating towards the former maintenance man.

Slowly, the plants dropped one by one from the maintenance man, but his body had changed. The plants had cocooned him, changed him during his time inside. Despite the power leaving him, his body was now a light blue color, and feminine looking, in fact his body had become that of a female. Looking at himself the maintenance man covered his mouth in shock.

"What did you do to me?" he/she asked the translucent blue creature.

"I took back the part of me inside of you," the being said as it touched her chin, "The rest, that was your body reconfiguring back to human. You chose the form that you thought best suited you."

"Hold it right there, whoever you are!" Danvers yelled turning her gun to the blue being.

"I am Stardust, first of the seven heralds of Galactus," it said as it turned towards Carol Danvers, "I am the Lifebringer, I mean you no harm."

"If you are the Lifebringer," Doom staggered towards Stardust, "Then you are the only one able to dissuade Galactus from coming."

"Normally that is true," Stardust turned again, this time towards Doom, "But all seven have been brought, and I am unable to counteract the other six."

"Soon Galactus will be here," Reed roared as Fury glared at him, "There is nothing you can do about it!"

"Barton, Cap!" Fury yelled to Hawkeye and Captain America, "Take Dr. Richards into custody and place him in the interrogation room." The leader of SHIELD turned away from Richards, "When I get down there, I want the truth."

"Oh, I'll be more than willing to tell you everything," A smirk that looked familiar to Ben spread across Reed's face.

"Carol, keep an eye on Stardust here! Doom!" Nick Fury yelled as he headed towards the command bridge, "You're with me, I want you to tell me everything you know about Galactus and what were dealing with here." Fury was living up to his name. Reed Richards had pulled the wool over his eyes for half a decade, the two years before his experiment, and the three years since. If Richards was lying, then the alien they had imprisoned two years ago, the Kree that he took prisoner, Phyla, might know something.

As he walked to the control room, Fury couldn't help but think about what oversight would do when they found out that Richard's had deceived them. More than likely GW would take his place as head of SHIELD. For now, he could only hope the emergency communications line between the Triskellion Main Base and the connected Raft Detention Center still remained.

The would be silence of the trip to the bridge was constantly broken by Victor Doom who, as they walked, told the current commander of SHIELD everything he knew about the entity known as Galactus. The fact that Galactus has seven heralds, each embodying a different aspect, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Power, Life, and Death, the fact that Richards' first experiment imbued each of them that were there each with a portion of a different herald.

"Ross," Fury said as he turned on the emergency communication, "How are things at the Raft?" the SHIELD General was anxious, he needed to assess the situation immediately. As he waited for a response he saw Colonel Sharon Carter attempting to get the main computer data system online.

"Bad," General Ross' voice came over the line, "Half of the raft is inside that dome of light, the other half, not so much."

"Let me guess, the power is out…" the commander said as he rubbed his temples, "I'll send all available Avengers to help out. Whatever you do, no matter what you must ensure that Phyla survives!"

"Understood Nick," Ross replied as he ended the communication.

"I'm going as well," Doom said as he headed towards the door.

"Not so fast Doom," Nick said as he stepped in front of the king of Latveria, "Even though you were right about Richards, it doesn't mean I trust you."

"And to tell you the truth, I don't really give a shit what happens to you, the Triskellion, or the Avengers," Doom said as he stared Fury down, "But at this moment of time, right here and now, we need all the help we can get, we don't have time for a jailbreak. We have to prepare for Galactus, which means we may need some of those so-called villains down there. How many of them do you think are seeking a chance at redemption?"

"It doesn't mat…" Fury started before Victor stopped him again.

"…Matter? Is that what you were going to say?" Victor asked as he pushed Fury out of the way, taking the keys to his handcuffs at the same time, "You attacked the leader of a foreign nation, which is a member of the UN I might add, kidnapped him, and held him in custody for over twelve hours. If I were you Fury, I would be kissing my boots hoping to god I put in a good word for you when this is all over."

"Sharon!" Nick yelled to his second in command who had gotten the main data systems up, "Activate Order Zero-dash-nine-seven-three. I want those computers encrypted yesterday!"

"Yes Sir!" Sharon saluted him, "Where are you headed, sir!" she asked as headed towards the interrogation rooms.

"I have a few questions for a snake that has gotten too close to home," Nick replied as he closed the door behind him. Nick was in a hurry, he needed to get answers from the kid, and the members of the Four would be there as well, he was sure they had questions too. Entering the room he saw Ben, Sue, Johnny, and Xi'an standing in the room all staring at Reed with various expressions ranging from surprise, anger, confusion, and betrayal. Also in the room Captain America and Hawkeye stood behind Reed, ensuring that no questions were asked until General Fury had arrived.

"So the top cop on the planet arrives," Reed smirked as Nick sat down, "What took you?"

"I don't want to hear any of your punk attitude Richards," Captain America grabbed him by his collar; "A traitor like you should know your place."

"A traitor am I," Reed laughed, "I guess I should play the part then, what would you like to know _General_?"

"This was your experiment all along wasn't it?" Fury handed Reed's original proposal to him, "Everything in there is bullshit isn't it?"

"Not all," the scientist replied as he touched the folder he hadn't seen in five years, "The Cosmic Cube is indeed a source of clean and unlimited energy."

"Cosmic Cube?" General Fury leaned in, "This is the first I've heard of that, what is it?"

"Too keep it simple for you," Reed said as he leaned back, "Galactus himself."

"What about returning us to normal!" Ben yelled out at his childhood friend.

"Oh you will be Ben," the genius said as he looked blankly at his old friend, "When the Herald each of your power comes from gets close enough to the Triskellion, you will be released from your burden."

"Why did you do this to us," Sue asked as she looked at the man she thought she loved, "We're your friends!"

"None of you were meant to be involved," Reed looked up, "Just me. My calculations were right, I used the same ones in my notes as before and it worked. Victor changed my computations for some reason, most likely due to his father's influence."

"What does Victor's father have to do with anything?" Nick asked looking for any information that would be useful to him.

"Everything," Reed said as he leaned forward, "If it weren't for King Werner von Doom the third, I would never have done this."

"You were seven years old when Werner died, and in another country!" Fury yelled, "What does he have to do with this?"

"He killed my wife's parents," Reed's words sent a new wave of emotions through those gathered there, "If Rhona's parents were never killed, the Burchill's wouldn't have adopted her, I would've never learned about The Church, and my experiment would never have happened." As Rhona's name passed Reed's lips, Sue ran from the room followed by Johnny and Xi'an. Ben stood there, attempting to process what he had just heard.

"Rhona Burchill was your wife?" Fury looked down in disbelief; their records showed nothing of the sort, Reed had manipulated them from the beginning.

"Is," Reed said as a green light surrounded him, "And it looks like your time is up," he vanished into thin air.

"Cap, Hawkeye, there's a jailbreak at the Raft, go clean it up," Fury said without blinking as he stared at the seat where Reed had just vanished from, "Ben, go with them."

"Sure," Ben followed them out of the room, "I could use something to hit right about now,"

"I can't believe this!" Fury yelled as he threw a chair through the two sided glass.

The Raft, Meanwhile…

"Father," She-Hulk yelled at General Ross as she entered the Raft command sphere, which hung in the air above the rest of the interior of the Raft "Where's Bruce?"

"There," the general pointed at the sphere of light that cut through the raft like a knife, "Along with about two fifths of the detainees."

"So this is why Richards chose SHIELD," Doom said as he entered the room, "No, it probably was The Church that chose it."

"What is he doing here?" the elderly general glared at Doom, but not with malice, with worry.

"I'm here to help," the king of Latveria leaned in to Thaddeus' ear, "Does your daughter know?" he said silently to the general.

"Yes," Thaddeus said as he stood up, "My daughter knows about how one of my closest friends was killed by your father, and that you and Kristoff are one and the same."

"It's good to see you again," Betty said as she put her hand on Doom's head, "I wish this was under better circumstances."

"Where's Octavius'?" Victor asked as he looked at the cell map.

"Doc Ock?" Thaddeus asked, "Good Behavior Block A, I'll take you."

"I'll go help the others deal with the riot!" Betty yelled as she jumped through the window of the dome.

"Still as crazy as ever," Doom said as he followed General Ross.

"Don't even think about it," the General laughed, "She's ten years older than you and married." His laughter cut short by a blade piercing his chest.

"Well, what do we have here?" The man wielding the knife stepped from the shadows, "Long time, no see Doom."

"Kraven!" Doom yelled as he leapt towards his once ally, electricity flowing from his body.

Far below the fight of Doom and Kraven, the Avengers alongside SHIELD prison staff fought for their lives as dozens, possibly hundreds of super-humans swarmed them. It was all they could do to stand their ground and prevent them from escaping to the Triskellion. Even with the added help of She-Hulk, the team was still suffering from the disappearance of Thor a few weeks earlier and Hulk being on the other side of the barrier.

"Thanks for the assist," Serah King, the newest member of the Avengers, known by the code-name Intangi-girl, said as She-Hulk rescued her from a purple skinned man.

"No problem," Betty said as she helped the girl to her feet, "Why they moved you from black ops to Avengers, I'll never know."

"Hank!" Wasp darted in between the various detainees that had been released due to the power outage, "How's Mitchell!"

"I need just a little bit more time to fix him!" Yellowjacket yelled out as he attempted to determine how to fix something half robotic and half organic.

"Stop talking and keep working!" Tony Stark ordered as he pushed Falcon out of the way of a large blast of fire, "If we can't get the automated systems back online, I don't think we'll be able to walk away from this."

"Those words be but a trifle for the likes of me," Valkyrie said as her sword began to glow, "!" The elder language left her lips and with them a chain of floating runes that began ensnaring the foes before her one at a time, "Be wary, this spell lasts but for a short time!"

"It's better than nothing Valk!" The staticy sound of Rhodey's voice came through the broken War Machine microphone.

"Stand fast soldiers," Cap said as his shield flew threw the air at the villain known as the Vulture, "Reinforcements have arrived!"

"And it's clobberin time!" Ben yelled as he grabbed Hammerhead and threw him like a missile at some of the other villains.

"Just a little more… and… EVERYONE BACK TO THE DOORWAY!" Pym yelled as Machine Man sprang back to life.

As the cyborg rose to his feet, the wiring of the prison came to life, jacking into his body as if using him as a battery. Slowly the detainee suppression systems came online, sending the villains to the ground with an increase of gravity.

"Cap," Ben said as the cracks on his body began to glow red hot, "Somethings wrong."

"Stand tough Grimm," Cap said said as he placed his gloved hands on the young man's shoulder, "I heard about you, youngest astronaut in history. You gotta be tough for that."

"Yeah," Ben grimaced as the pain shot through him, "I think the Herald from which I got my power is close… and he wants it back."

"Fight him son!" Cap placed both his hands on Grimm's shoulders.

"Cap," Tony said as he looked at his readings, "I think we should all back away and take cover."

"I won't leave a man behind ever again Stark!" Cap yelled at Tony, "Avengers, Take Cover!" his voice yelled a bright light filling the room as Grimm's body erupted.

"Sue!" Ben yelled out as everything went dark.

To be continued in Avengers/FF #2


End file.
